


Holly and Mistletoe

by LeChatRouge673



Series: Wildflower [4]
Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening
Genre: F/M, holiday fluff, satinalia 2017
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-15
Updated: 2017-12-15
Packaged: 2019-02-14 23:25:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13018422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeChatRouge673/pseuds/LeChatRouge673





	Holly and Mistletoe

Satinalia at Vigil’s Keep seemed quieter this year, although Cataline knew that it really hadn’t been. Or perhaps it had, but only by virtue of the fact that Oghren was away visiting his wife and child. He was a dear friend, despite his more colorful personality traits, but while Cat could admit she missed him she was harder pressed to say that she missed his drunken caroling that seemed to increase in volume and decrease in accuracy the further he was in his cups.

Still, the Keep had been a bustle of holiday cheer and activity. Cat and Nathaniel had not even intended to still be in Amaranthine for the holiday: after having defeated the hideous broodmother known as The Mother earlier in the year, they had fully intended to pass the mantle of Warden Commander on to someone else and then to spend their time traveling. Perhaps they would find a place to settle and call home; perhaps they would simply see what wonders the world had to offer.

Yet here they still were. Despite their protests that they needed to move on, it seemed as though there was never any shortage of work that still needed the attention of the Warden Commander. Seneschal Varel at least had the grace to pretend to be apologetic about it, but Cat knew he was reluctant to see them leave. The Keep was still undergoing repairs and rebuilding following the darkspawn attacks, and Cat and her husband made a formidable team when it came to the reconstruction. Despite her reluctance to be labeled such, Cat was proving to be a natural leader. Still, she found herself feeling restless more and more frequently. Their departure would come sooner rather than later.

Interestingly enough, the holiday did not seem to be helping any. For a time that was supposed to be about hearth and home, Cataline kept dreaming of being anywhere _other_ than the Keep. The only thing making her feel less guilty was knowing that Nathaniel felt the same way. Despite this being his childhood home, the stone walls and lofty timbers did not mean much more to him than they did her.

It also did not help that Cataline was starting to feel disconnected from everyone else. They were receiving new warden recruits nearly every day it seemed, but the multitude of new faces only threw into sharp relief the familiar ones that had moved on. Velanna had left shortly after their final fight against the broodmother, not that Cat had been terribly surprised. The two women had forged a tentative sort of camaraderie by the end, but had never been close. Last she’d heard, the elven woman was still seeking out her sister, but had also taken to helping those in need along the way, and Cat felt a certain sense of pride in her former companion.

In the spring months shortly after she had joined their number, Velanna had planted a small garden between the outer and inner walls of the Keep. It had been a quiet place for her to escape to when the press of people and social interactions became too much. After she had left, Cat had taken to tending the small plot of land; maintaining that tenuous connection to her friend. On Satinalia Eve, she had carried tiny paper lanterns down and hung them carefully on the tree Velanna had planted there. Even from her bedroom window, Cat could see their lights stubbornly shining against the darkness outside.

Anders had disappeared without a word and somehow ended up in Kirkwall a few months later. Cat would not even had known that much had she not had word from her first cousins once removed, Ravenna and Bethany Hawke. Ven did not say it in so many words, but Cat knew her suspicions regarding the mage and their spirit companion were right. As much as she missed Anders and his snarky sense of humor, she was grateful to him for not forcing him to make a choice she did not want to make. Was not sure she _could_ have made. There was a certain irony in the fact that it seemed he could not escape her family even in Kirkwall, but Ven seemed rather taken with him, though Cat knew the other woman would never admit it.

She had sent a warm, handknit woolen scarf along with the gifts for the Hawke family, with a note to Ven to see that it got to their Darktown healer. And to remind him to get some sleep once in awhile. Cat had also baked a large batch of crunchy treats for the cats she knew would inevitably end up wherever Anders was. And when she lit the memory candles on Satinalia Eve, she had lit an extra one for her friend, and for the spirit he carried.

Oghren had insisted he didn’t need anything for Satinalia beyond a stiff drink and a good meal. Still, on Cat and Nathaniel’s final trip to Amaranthine for the year they had picked out a selection of toys and stuffed animals and wrapped them neatly in a basket for Oghren to give to his child. The gesture had been well received by the dwarf who, despite his grumbling about the holiday, had pored over everything with a grin on his face. When he left for Lake Calenhad, he had taken extra care to make sure the bundle of toys was safely wrapped in a sack that he insisted on carrying himself.

Sigrun had been perhaps the easiest person to think of gifts for, but then Cat had faced the challenge of actually narrowing down her choices. She finally settled on a beautiful bronze astrolabe she had found at the Wonders of Thedas on her last trip to the capital. The dwarven woman was still slightly in awe of the stars in the night sky, and over the past few months had developed a keen interest in them, reading every book the Keep had on the subject of astronomy. She had given a small squeal of glee when she had unwrapped her gift and, after embracing Cat and Nathaniel in a brief hug, had dashed off to find the tallest tower she could. For all they knew, she was still up there somewhere, charting the stars and their solemn dance across the endless expanse of velvety dark.

Her favorite gift had come from Nathaniel. Of course it had. Void, just having him there, knowing that he loved her and that he was hers… that was enough in and of itself, and she had told him as much when he had asked what she wanted. He’d laughed, kissed her on the tip of her nose and said he would simply have to be creative. To his credit, his gift far outstripped any idea she could have possible come up with. Nathaniel had somehow saved a few precious blooms from the very first bouquet of wildflowers he had ever given her, pressing them between the pages of his favorite book. For Satinalia, he had asked Enchanter Cera to fold the delicate blossoms into a crystal pendant that Cat now wore around her neck. It was, in fact, _all_ she was wearing save for the delicate silk robe Thea had sent her from Orlais. A fact that was not lost on her husband.

“As tempting as you are, standing there like that, I cannot help but feel that your mind is elsewhere, love,” he murmured against her cheek as he wrapped his arms around her waist, looking out the window with her over the courtyard and the softly falling snow. He had finally set aside the leather bracers she’d had made for him, entreating Master Wade to once again work with the precious dragon hide and to work a delicate scrolling of wildflowers into the material.

Cat laughed softly, leaning back against her husband’s chest and breathing a quiet sigh. “I am not certain exactly _where_ my mind is,” she admitted, “but you are right. I do not think it is here. Not anymore.”

He gently turned her in his arms so that she was facing him, and reached a hand up to tilt her chin so her violet eyes met the silver of his own. “You’re restless.”

She nodded. “I know we have been talking about leaving for months, but… but I think it is finally time. When the passes thaw in the spring, maybe we can finally move on.”

“Wildflower,” Nathaniel murmured the endearment against her lips, pulling her close to him. “You know I will follow you to the end of the world. Wherever you are, I am home. So. Where do you want to go first?”

Cataline stepped away, but only to take him by the hand and led him to the bed. “Well, this will be a good start,” she smiled. “As for where next… I am not sure. We could go to Montsimmard, visit Thea and Loghain. Or we could go north into the Marches, see if we can track down Anders and the Hawke branch of the family. But first, I think I would like to somewhere just for us. Someplace we’ve never been before.”

“Someplace warm?” Nathaniel suggested as he bent down to kiss the curve of her neck, slipping the robe from her shoulder. Cat laughed, the sound breathless beneath his touch.

“Someplace warm,” she agreed.

 


End file.
